The present invention relates to a hand holdable portable reader device.
In order to store digital electronic data, such as back-up data from a server computer device, it is known to use magnetic tape data storage cartridges comprising one or a pair of rotatable reels, and an elongate band of magnetic tape. A main reason for using such tape data storage cartridges is to make back up copies of important data. Customers running large computer installations, or research and development facilities having significant amounts of data generated may have hundreds or thousands of tape data storage cartridges containing back up data, backed up from a wide range of different host devices such as servers and computer devices. Large collections of tape data storage cartridges tend to be stored in centralised library locations, sometimes situated in fire proof safes or fire proof rooms. The library storage facility may be geographically remote from the host server devices, so that if there is destruction of data on the host devices, for example by a fire, the back up data remains safe. When a host device fails and data is lost, it is necessary to quickly locate the tape cartridge having the latest back up data, which may be located in an offsite library.
These libraries include manual access libraries, where the cartridges are simply stored on shelves or in racks or boxes, with access to the cartridges being by manually picking up the cartridges, or automated libraries, where the cartridges are stored in predefined locations on a rack or shelf and are automatically accessed. In a manual access library, to identify a content of a tape cartridge a person may simply write out a label manually, describing the content of the data on the tape cartridge. This process is tedious and prone to error. For example the wrong label might be put on the wrong tape, so that the contents of the label do not coincide with the data of the tape cartridge. Alternatively, tape cartridges have barcodes printed on their external cases, so conventionally finding a particular tape may involve using a barcode scanner to scan a plurality of barcode labels on a plurality of tape cartridges. In the case of an automated library, robotic arms which are software controlled, deposit and collect cartridges in a rack, or shelf, and use a serial number of a tape data storage cartridge to determine a location within the library shelf or rack on which to store the cartridge. The rack or shelf is accessible by the robotic arm which may physically select a required tape on receipt of user instructions, the robotic arm being moved under computer control to a cartridge storage location on the rack or shelf.
Conventionally, a person wishing to find an item of stored data on a cartridge will need firstly to identify the correct cartridge with the data on it, and secondly identify a position of the data on the tape stored within the cartridge. In the case of single reel cartridges, the whole of the magnetic tape is wound on to the single cartridge whenever the cartridge is not in a tape drive mechanism. To find a particular item of data on a cartridge, a person must select the cartridge, put the cartridge into a conventional tape drive device, for example forming part of a host personal computer, workstation, or computerised test equipment device, and view a content of the tape on a visual display unit forming part of the host computer, workstation or test equipment device. There is a time lag incurred in winding and rewinding the tape to identify a particular item of data.
A current industry trend in tape data storage media is to supply a solid state transponder memory data storage device on or within a tape cartridge, on which can be stored information describing a data content of the tape. Examples of the type of information stored include file name and type, customer information system data backed-up, application and file space on the magnetic tape used or remaining. The information stored on such a memory device is upgraded when the magnetic tape is accessed using a known tape drive in a host computer having an integrated driver and read-write device, controlled by software resident on the host device. Many different types of tape data storage cartridge are used in system backup and the location of the transponder memory storage device in relation to a casing of the tape cartridge varies between cartridge media types and is specific to the particular cartridge media type in each case.
To identify items of data stored on the tape cartridge, the memory device comprising part of the cartridge stores data as mentioned above, describing the file names, customer information, application and file space remaining on the tape or used on the tape, and dates of storage of files. A summary information describing the data items stored on the tape can be obtained by automatically interrogating the transponder memory storage device in the cartridge, which is read by the tape drive device by inductive coupling to a transceiver chip forming part of the memory device, and which can be displayed on the visual display unit of the host device. Reading the content of the memory device involves physically picking up the data cartridge, putting the data cartridge in the tape drive of the host device, operating a keypad or pointing device, for example a mouse or tracker ball, to select menu items from an application program on the host device, in order to identify the information describing the data content of the tape.
In order to print a label for the tape, this involves running an application stored on the host device, perhaps manually entering the information describing the data on the tape via a keyboard and/or pointing device and then printing out the label. A problem in printing a label for the tape cartridge by this mechanism is the time taken to print each label. For example, for a person wishing to find a particular item of data in a library, the first time a person enters the library on a particular day, he may have to pick an unlabeled tape cartridge which the person thinks the data item may reside on, and in order to check the data on the cartridge needs to turn on the host computer device, wait for the host device to boot up and initialise, taking possibly a minute or two, select the application required for reading the memory device on the cartridge, again perhaps taking of the order of one or two minutes, and then read the data. If the data cartridge does not contain the required data, then the person needs to remove the cartridge from the drive, which may or may not involve a delay in the software controlling the tape drive unit allowing the person to remove the tape, and then select a different tape from the shelf. For the second, subsequent tape cartridge inspected, the time delays will be shorter than inspecting the first data cartridge, since the host device does not need to be booted up and initialised. However, there is still a significant delay in interrogating the memory device on the cartridge through the application software provided by the host device.
Having found the data cartridge containing the required data, in order to print a label for attachment to the cartridge, the person needs to call up the application software for printing the label, perhaps enter details describing the cartridge manually into the printing application software, using a keyboard and/or pointing device and before printing make sure that an attached printer device is turned on. In order to turn the printing device on, the printing device may go through a print initialisation routine, which in the case of an inkjet printer may take several minutes if used for the first time on a particular day, and providing there is sufficient print medium in the printer device, then a label can be printed. However, since many printer devices use paper as a print medium, it may be necessary to find and insert sheets of adhesive labels into the printer in order to print out an adhesive label for the tape cartridge.
Therefore, conventionally it may take anything of the order of 10 to 16 minutes to print a label for a data cartridge, including all the time delays involved in booting up a host device and initialising a printer. Additionally, this assumes that a host computer device is available at the location of the library, which it may not be, in which case an additional delay is incurred in taking the tapes to the host device for the data to be reloaded. Although the time delay taken to print a label for subsequent tape cartridges after the first will reduce per cartridge, the cataloguing and identification of data stored on existing legacy libraries of tape data storage cartridges is a time consuming process, whether the library is a manual access library, or an automated library having a robotic device for selected cartridges.
In all cases, in order to improve ease and accuracy of access to the required data, a system for checking the data stored on a tape and labeling the tape accurately will be of benefit.
Specific methods according to the present invention, recognise that information contained on transponder memory devices in a data storage cartridge can be used to provide a rapid means of access to a data set which can be utilised to identify the cartridge and to produce a cartridge label.
Conceptually, the specific embodiments of the invention aim to provide an integrated printer with built-in radio frequency capability to read information stored on a memory device integrated into a data storage medium cartridge casing which automatically prints the information read from the memory device in a pre-formatted user-readable form on a label suited to the specific cartridge casing type.
According to first aspect of the present invention there is provided a hand holdable portable reader device capable of reading data stored in a memory device attached to a cartridge-type data storage device said reader device comprising:
a signal receiver means capable of receiving data signals emitted from said data storage device;
a memory means capable of storing said data signals received by said receiver means;
a printer device configured to print at least some of said data received from said receiver means onto a print media; and
a processor device operable to control said printer to print said data on said print media.
Preferably said printer is configured for printing a label of a size and shape suitable for direct attachment to a said data storage cartridge.
Preferably said processor is configured to select a predetermined selection of information items describing said data storage device from said data received from said data storage device, and to control said printer to print said predetermined set of information items onto a said print media in a predetermined format.
The device may further comprise a keypad control means, said keypad control means being finger operable for inputting user commands to said processor, for controlling said display device for scanning through data items describing said data storage device, said data items retrieved from said memory means.
The device may further comprise a keypad control means configured for operating such that upon a user activating a key of said keypad control means, said printer device operates to print a predetermined selection of data items describing said data storage device, on to said print media.
Preferably said processor device is operable under control of a dedicated operating system stored in a read only memory device.
The reader device may further comprise an interface means for interfacing with an external processor.
The reader device may further comprise a display means, and said processor operates under control of said operating system and a keypad data entry means to display a selection of user selectable menu items on said display means.
The reader device may have a keypad device comprising a print key wherein said processor operates to receive a print signal produced by activation of said print key, and sends a print signal to said printer for printing data items input via said receiver.
Preferably said reader device comprises a port adapted to locate said data storage device and said receiver means is located within said port such that when a said data storage device is inserted into said port a memory device of said data storage device lies in close physical proximity to said receiver means.
The reader device may further comprise a housing for accepting a roll of blank labels.
Preferably, the reader device comprises a port adapted to locate said data storage device, said port comprising a recess specifically shaped and formed to accept said tape data storage device.
Said reader device may comprise a port adapted to locate said data storage device, said port comprising a surface against which said data storage device may be offered in close proximity to said surface, such that a receiver device may detect signals transmitted by said data storage device.
The invention includes a hand-holdable portable reader device for reading data from a memory device contained on a data storage device, said reader device comprising:
a casing having a port capable of accepting a said data storage device;
reading means for reading data from said memory device of said data storage device, said reading means located in said port;
processor means configured for controlling said reading means and for accepting data signals received by said reading means;
memory means containing an operating system for controlling said processor means by a sequence of command signals;
display means for displaying said data obtained from said receiving means in a user readable format;
keypad data entry means capable of receiving input commands for activation of said menu items; and
printer means operable under control of said processor means for printing a label in response to a user command signal input activated by said keypad data entry means, wherein said label contains at least some of the data read from the memory device of the data storage device.